Spool



Oct. 25, 1960 H. F. BENOIT 2,957,642

sPooL Filed sept. 5, 195s INVENTo HEM/ZV F. BE/vo `Arme/MY ice SPOOLHenry F. Benoit, P10. Box 112, Charlton City, Mass.

Filed Sept. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 759,258

Claims. (Cl. 242-118.61)

invention relates to improvements in spools for use with mule spinning,carding and like machines.

Spools of the character embodying the invention are adapted for use incarrying a plurality of wool strands which are initially wound on thespool and which are thereafter withdrawn therefrom during spinning,carding or like operations. In performing such operations the spools aremanually placed on and removed from the machines and must be manuallyplaced in and trucked from one machine to another. Such spools arerelatively large and, when filled with wool strands, are quite heavy andbulky to handle and thereby receive considerable abuse during thehandling thereof either from accidental dropping, from bumping the headsof the spools against the frames of the machines during their removal orreplacement or from throwing the spools into the trucks by means ofwhich they are conveyed from one machine to another. One of the primarydifficulties has been that the ends of the 'barrels soon becamedisplaced or bent with the result that the heads could not be supportedin proper angular relation with the barrel or were rendered too loosefor continued use.

There are various types of spools on the market, all of which haveattempted to overcome the above difliculties. Some of these spools areprovided with a wooden barrel having the heads attached to the opposedends thereof by centrally disposed clamp bolts which enabled periodictightening of the heads. It has been found that during use and due tothe abuse which such devices encountered, the ends of the woodenbarrelswould either split or the material thereof became displaced to such anextent that the heads could no longer be properly angularly disposedrelative to the barrel or be sufiiciently tightened.

Another diii'iculty has been that suchbarrels become splintered to suchan extent that individuals handling the spools often received severeinjuries from slivers and further diiiculty was encountered in beingunable to freely draw the woolen strands from the barrels.

To overcome this difliculty other spools appeared on the market havingthe barrel portion thereof formed of aluminum tubing to which the headswere attached by centrally disposed spring tensioning means which wasdesigned to relieve the head and barrel connections from shock andstrain as the result of the `abuse they receive during the use of thespool. This type of spool did not solve the problem for the ends of thebarrel soon became bent and displaced to such an extent that the headsnot only loosened but tilted to an undesirable angle and rendered thespools impractical for use.

As stated above, most of the prior art spools embodied either wooden oraluminum barrels 4and several different means for attaching the heads onthe ends of the barrel were tried with little if any success.

It, therefore, is one of the principal objects of the present inventionto provide a spool which will overcome all of the above diiculties andwhich will be durable, resistant to displacement, cracking, chemicalattack, impact, chipping, bending or splintering and having its headportions attached to the spool in such manner as to prevent the headsfrom becomingloose or angularly displaced during the use thereof andwhich may be fabricated in a simple and inexpensive manner.-

Another object is to provide spools of the above character wherein thevarious parts thereof may be removedy Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2of a further modifica-` tion; and

Fig. 5 is a view generally similarto Fig. 2 of a .stillA furthermodification. f

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designatelike parts .throughout the various views, the device embodying theinvention comprises a barrel 6 formed of hollow hard plastic tubularmaterial having its opposed ends provided with `a thread 7 formedpreferably of the pipe-thread type which is adapted to be threadedinternally of a threaded openingy formed centrally of disklike heads 8.The heads 8 are formed ofrpressed ber material which is resistant tobending and to wear. The length of the threads 7 on the ends of thebarrel are controlled dimensionally so that the fiberheads 8 may betightly threaded thereon with the respectiveV ends 9 of the barrelassuming a flush relation with the outer surface 10 of the heads. Theheads are provided with a plurality of openings 11 spacedcircumferentially considerably outwardly of t-he barrel through whichscrews 12 may be extended and threaded internally of threaded openings13 formed in Va steel flange 14 of a diameter greater than the diameterof the barrel to provide added resistance to sidewise deflection of theheads relative to the barrel.

The steel flange 14 is provided with an inner boss 145` having a taperedside wall 16 adapted to extend in` wardly Vof a respective end of thehard plastic tubular barrel and is controlled in diameter so as to causethe end of thebarrel to flare outwardly when said boss is forced andheld inwardly of the tube to thereby cause the threads 7 to frictionallyand intimately engage the threads of the openings in the heads S. Thescrews v12 are adapted to hold the boss in said fitted relation inwardlyof the hard plastic tubular barrel. When the screws are tightened, theenlarged heads thereof are adapted to be drawn into frictional contactwith the.

fiber material of the head 8 wherein said fiber will tend to prevent thescrews from backing outrand becoming loose during the use of the spool.The flange is provided with a central opening which extends through saidflange 14 and boss 15 and into which a steel pivot pin is mounted andsecured therein by welding, brazing or the like. e e

The barrel 6 is preferably formed of a rigid polyvinyl chloride materialcontaining a suitable antacid such as` lead carbonate and containing ananti-oxidant such as carbon black to render the barrel resistant tochemical attack and aging. The barrel mayl also be formed ofl linearpolyethylene or cellulose acetate butyrate which may also have such anantacid and antioxidant therein to render the barrel resistant tochemical attack and to prevent aging thereof. If desired, at the time offabricat- .Patnted Oct. 25,1960

fragmentary sectional View taken ing the hard plastic barrels suitablefillers may be mixed with the plastic to further reinforce the same suchas are commonly known in the art.

The advantage of a hard plastic barrel of the above character is that itis not only resistant to chemical attack and aging but is extremelydurable and resistant to impact, chipping, bending or splintering.Further, the plastic material when threaded inwardly of a fiber head, inaccordance with the invention, provides a more permanent connectionbetween the barrel and head and which is more resistant to impact thanhas been possible to be attained with prior art constructions such asset forth above.

Further, when the flange 14 is secured to the head by the screws 12 withthe tapered boss forced inwardly of the end of the hard plastic tubularbarrel, the thread connections 7 become more firmly interlocked and theboss and flange, by reason of its increased diameter over the diameterof the barrel and the outward location of the screws further function toresist impact which might cause the heads to be displaced sidewise toundesirable angular relation with the barrel.

The barrel is preferably about 2% in diameter having a wall thickness ofapproximately 1A but may be made to other diameters and wall thicknessesas required.

It is pointed out that spools of this construction have been proven towithstand considerable more punishment than any of the prior art spoolsmentioned above.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a preferred construction wherein the steelpivot pins 17 are each provided with a flange portion 18 producing ashoulder 19 for engaging the outer surface 20 of a respective ange andfurther provided with `a stem 21 which extends through a central opening22 in the flange and boss and which is provided with a threaded end 23onto which a suitable nut 24 or the like is threaded to detachablysecure the pin 17 to the flange. Otherwise, the ange and boss areconstructed similar to the construction illustrated in Fig. 2.

A further modification of the invention is shown in Fig. 4 wherein thesteel pivot pin 2S is provided with a shank 26 which extends into theopening in vthe ange and boss in a manner similar to the stem 21 withthe exception that the bore of the opening is threaded throughout thethickness of the boss to receive a threaded portion 27 formed on theshank of the pin 25. The inner end of the pin is provided with a flaredhex-head or the like 28 whereby the pin may be inserted through theopening from the inner side of the flange and boss and thence bethreadedly and detachably held in connected relation with the flange bytightening the threads of the boss inwardly of the threaded portion ofthe opening.

In the constructions of Figs. 3 and 4, the pins 17 and may be removedand replaced should they become worn after prolonged use of the spools.

It is pointed out that the spools resulting from the above-describedarrangements and methods are particularly durable and resistant toimpact and abuse and have overcome all of the difficulties encounteredwith prior lart spools, that is, they are resistant to chipping,splintering, cracking, bending and particularly resistant to chemicalattack and aging.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated a further modification of the inventionwherein the barrel 29 has a wall thickness much greater than that of thepreviously described barrels and is provided with a reduced end 30having its outer surface threaded at 31 to which the head 32 isthreadedly connected. In this instance, the end of the barrel isprovided with a shoulder 33 which engages the inner surface of the head32 and which functions cooperatively with the flange 34 and tapered bossin retaining the head against sidewise displacement and loosening duringthe use of the spool.

It is pointed out that with all of the constructions described `hereinthe barrels, intermediate the dislike heads 8, have smooth unobstructedsurfaces extending from the inner surface of the `head on one end of thespool to the inner surface on the opposite end of the spool therebypermitting the yarn to be wound on the barrel throughout the entirelength thereof with no danger of the strands becoming caught between theends of the barrel and the heads, as was encountered with many of theprior art structures.

With applicants arrangement the exposed surfaces of the ends of thebarrel are always in intimate relation with the adjacent inner sidesurfaces of the spools wherein no portions of the strands can be forcedinwardly between the heads andV barrel during the winding of the woolstrands on the spools.

It has been found that the use of heads formed of a hard liber material,when combined with a hard plastic barrel of the type defined herein,results in a more positive and permanent attachment of the heads, as thematerials of the barrel and the heads provide a positive frictioninterlock throughout their interthreaded portions, particularly whencombined with the outward wedging action of the bosses, for example,such as shown and described in connection with Fig. 2. The hard plastictubing also results in barrels which are resistant to cracking, chippingor in any way becoming damaged.

While certain hard plastics have been described herein as being suitable`for use with the present invention, it is to be understood that othersimilar hard plastics may be employed and which have the samecharacteristics as 'those described above.

It is further pointed out that if desired, instead of utilizing screwssuch as shown at 12 for securing the head 10 to the flange 14, headedpins or the like might be employed and further, in instances when screwsare used, the ends thereof may be ared outwardly subsequent to thetightening of the screws to further prevent their loosening and backingout. However, it has been found that the friction binding of themetallic head of the screw with the liber material of the head functionsvery satisfactorily in retaining the screws against backing out.

From the foregoing it will be seen that simple, efcient and economicalmeans and method have been provided for accomplishing all the objectsand advantages of the invention. Nevertheless, it should be apparentthat many changes in the details of construction, arrangement of partsor steps of the method may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as expressed in the accompanying claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A spool comprising the combination of a tubular barrel formed of hardplastic material resistant to cracking, chemical attack, impact,chipping, bending and splintering having outwardly threaded endportions, disklike head portions of hard fiber material each having athreaded opening centrally thereof threadedly attached to the threadedends of the barrel, a ange of a diameter considerably larger than thediameter of the barrel secured to each of said heads and each having atapered boss extending inwardly of the respective ends of the hardplastic barrel and of a size to cause the material of lthe ends of saidbarrel to flare outwardly and force the threaded ends thereof intofrictional binding relation with the threaded openings of the heads,said flanges and bosses being formed of metal and pivot pin meanscarried by said flanges for pivotally supporting the spool in themachine with which the spool is to be used.

2. A spool comprising the combination of a tubular barrel formed of hardplastic material resistant to cracking, chemical attack, impact,chipping, bending and splintering having outwardly threaded endportions, disklike head portions of hard fiber material each having athreaded opening centrally thereof threadedly attached to n A r rn A thethreaded ends of the barrel, a flange of a diameter considerably largerthan the diameter of the barrel and less than the diameter of the headssecured to each of said heads in overlying relation with the outer sidesurfaces thereof and each having a tapered boss extending inwardly ofthe respective ends of the hard plastic barrel `and of `a size to causethe material of the ends of said barrel to flare outwardly and force thethreaded ends thereof into frictional binding relation with the threadedopenings of the heads and pivot pin means carried by said flanges forpivotally supporting the spool in the machine with which the spool is tobe used.

3. A spool comprising the combination of a tubular barrel formed of hardplastic material resistant to cracking, chemical attack, impact,chipping, bending and splintering having outwardly threaded endportions, disklike head portions of hard fiber material each having athreaded `opening centrally thereof threadedly attached to the threadedends of the barrel, a llange of a diameter considerably larger than thediameter of the barrel secured to each of said heads in overlyingrelation with the outer side surfaces thereof and each having a taperedboss extending inwardly of the respective ends of the hard plasticbarrel and of la size to cause the material of the ends of said barrelto flare outwardly and force the threaded ends thereof into frictionalbinding relation with the threaded openings of the heads, said flangesand tapered bosses being integrally formed of metal 4and a metallicpivot pin means detachably carried by ysaid anges for pivotallysupporting the spool in the machine with which the spool is to be used.

4. A spool comprising the combination of a tubular barrel formed of hardplastic material resistant to cracking, chemical attack, impact,chipping, bending and splintering having threaded end portions, disklikehead portions of hard ber material each having a threaded openingcentrally thereof threadedly attached to the threaded ends of thebarrel, a metallic flange of a diameter considerably larger than thediameter of the barrelY and less than the diameter of the heads securedto each of said heads by screws having portions in frictionally lockedcontact with said heads and each having a tapered metallic bossextending inwardly of the respective ends of the hard plastic barrel andof a size to cause the material of the ends of said barrel to flareoutwardly and force the -threaded ends thereof into frictional bindingrelation with the threaded openings of the heads and interchangeablemetallic pivot pin means carried by said flanges for pivotallysupporting the spool in the machine with which the spool is -to be used.

5. In a device of the character described the combination of a tubularbarrel of hard plastic material resistant to cracking, chemical attack,impact, chipping, bending and splintering having threaded end portions,disklike head portions of hard fiber material threadedly attached to theends of said barrel, a flange of a diameter considerably larger than thediameter of the barrel secured to each of said heads and having anintegral tapered boss extending inwardly of the respective ends of thehard plastic barrel and secured therein in such a manner as to cause thematerial of said barrel to flare outwardly and to force the threadedends thereof into frictional binding relation with the threadedconnection with the heads, said ilanges and integral bosses being formedof steel, said flanges and tapered bosses having a central openingtherein and detachable metallic pivot pin means having a portionextending outwardly of said central openings and having an innerthreaded por-tion threadedly attaching said pin means to said flanges.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,378,412 Hutchinson May 17, 1921 1,856,298 Traver May 3, 1932 2,086,948Schwartz et al. July 13, 1937

